Re: *** Final Task *** Winner takes all 5/22*** Spoilers

He shmoozed and charmed his way to the top. John Rich wins. I predicted this from the beginning. Firstly, Trump is a Republican. Of course he is going to love John Rich. And secondly, John Rich is Donald Trump Jr. He operates the exact same way. I think Marlee probably deserved it more. She's gone through a lot more on the show than John did. I mean, her team was tougher to deal with and none of the women got along well. You just can't beat the "Bro" atmosphere that Lil Jon, John, and Mark created. It is like Marlee was a gourmet meal and John was peanuts and beer. Peanuts and beer always win.
Marlee shouldn't feel too badly though. It isn't like she would have been in good company as the winner of this show. Plus, Donald Trump is a huge laughing stock right now.

Re: *** Final Task *** Winner takes all 5/22*** Spoilers

It's been bugging me all season, but I finally put my finger on it -- whom Gary Busey looks like and reminds me of so much: Bill the Cat from Bloom County.

John Rich -- fine, whatever. I'm not enamoured with his charity. My opinion only: they can boast their stats because they refuse kids who they think "won't make it." They go on and on about how they never refuse anyone because of ability to pay. It's a different story, though, if they think the kid doesn't have a statistical chance of getting well. Again, my opinion only.

Re: *** Final Task *** Winner takes all 5/22*** Spoilers

It's been bugging me all season, but I finally put my finger on it -- whom Gary Busey looks like and reminds me of so much: Bill the Cat from Bloom County.

John Rich -- fine, whatever. I'm not enamoured with his charity.

My opinion only: they can boast their stats because they refuse kids who they think "won't make it." They go on and on about how they never refuse anyone because of ability to pay. It's a different story, though, if they think the kid doesn't have a statistical chance of getting well. Again, my opinion only.

This is interesting. Charities that require a huge staff to keep them going is always a question for me. How much gets to the actual heart of the need and how much goes in the pockets of the CEO and other mangement. Scandal happened back in the 50's to expose this and they now are under more scrutiny but still I wonder.

I like John Rich but I got sick of him saying St Judes Children's hospital over and over and over.

I don't believe all the celebs on this show are as dedicated to their charity as they would like us to believe. Self promotion heads the list. Nothing wrong with that either.

The missing Dion is curious. Surely she signed a contract stating that she had to be at the finale. Reality show contestants never seem to get out of that one. She may have cried bad edit and caused a comotion. Rather than pressing it, they let it go. Nothing else makes sense.

David Cassidy is a little whinny worm. Why not be bigger than the situation and let the friction with Hatch live in the past. He only made himself look bad.

Starr and her insidious grin makes my skin crawl.

Lisa calling on the audience to back her about Starr being fired instead of her was a bad idea. Most would have agreed but who even remembers the first task? And the energy just wasn't there to muster Starr hate and Lisa failed to sense this.

Not one word to the playboy model. I still cannot remember her name.

Love Lil John. He was adorable last night.

Gary, oh my god Gary! Two things in life you should never do, pet a burning dog and fry bacon naked. Love it. I missed that little piece of Gary wisdom when it aired.

Re: *** Final Task *** Winner takes all 5/22*** Spoilers

Joan Rivers's charity, God's Love, served the elderly and also adults who were ill.

Originally Posted by shoepie

This is interesting. Charities that require a huge staff to keep them going is always a question for me. How much gets to the actual heart of the need and how much goes in the pockets of the CEO and other mangement. Scandal happened back in the 50's to expose this and they now are under more scrutiny but still I wonder.

I'm not sure about the states, but in Canada, charities have to disclose how much of their monies go to the actual charity.

I thought they were both fabulous charities and watching the clips of each touched my heart. Different people support different things, and how can I not love that those two charities are the beneficiaries of such huge checks? Fantastic! Want a charity to have more suppport? Go and support it. Sorry, I just can't begrudge others their choices in charities and the good they do for them. Marlee's choice in particular is so dear to heart and is just not something you immediately think of when you think of all the needs in Africa, but what a difference she is making in those families lives.

Originally Posted by RealityLovesMe

He shmoozed and charmed his way to the top. John Rich wins. I predicted this from the beginning. Firstly, Trump is a Republican. Of course he is going to love John Rich. And secondly, John Rich is Donald Trump Jr. He operates the exact same way. I think Marlee probably deserved it more. She's gone through a lot more on the show than John did. I mean, her team was tougher to deal with and none of the women got along well. You just can't beat the "Bro" atmosphere that Lil Jon, John, and Mark created. It is like Marlee was a gourmet meal and John was peanuts and beer. Peanuts and beer always win.
Marlee shouldn't feel too badly though. It isn't like she would have been in good company as the winner of this show. Plus, Donald Trump is a huge laughing stock right now.

Completely disagree. Marlee was safe in Star's pocket his whole game... and John Rich had to deal with as much crap as she did; Gary Busey coupled with Meatloaf was a disaster. The men's team had to be whittled down to nothing before it became really successful because of the amount of garbage on that team.

Re: *** Final Task *** Winner takes all 5/22*** Spoilers

Originally Posted by Alexxxx

They didn't show whether JR was responsible for the Def Leppard timing snafu or not, but for a guy that earns his living doing stage shows, I found it really hard to believe he could screw that one up. I think he was accepting the blame because it was his task. I have no idea who was at fault.

I'm quite certain he was at fault. The agreed upon time notwithstanding, he should have made sure they were in the wings before he started with his presentation. Even if they had all agreed on 7:00, and it was now 7:00 on the dot, sh...stuff happens. Elevator malfunction. Food poisoning. Customs agents. One can't just assume that things not directly under one's control are going according to plan.

Re: *** Final Task *** Winner takes all 5/22*** Spoilers

[QUOTE=spockwhat;4300144]Joan Rivers's charity, God's Love, served the elderly and also adults who were ill.

According to its mission statement, God's Love--We Deliver was created to deliver meals to those dealing with AIDS, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses. I'm sure that includes some people who are elderly, but it's not their primary mission.

I had thought of Joan Rivers, because she was the only one I could remember whose charity might be related to serving older people, so I looked it up and found out I wasn't exactly right about that.

Again, love the mission of God's Love--We Deliver, and I have absolutely nothing against any of the charities anyone has chosen. Given that the show draws attention to charities people aren't necessarily familiar with, however, I wish someone would choose a charity that dealt primarily with the needs of older people, just because I don't think they get as much publicity and could use it. But obviously, people--celebrities and otherwise--have to choose what's nearest to their hearts and donate their time and money to that. I don't expect that everyone can give to every charity. It's just not feasible for the vast majority of people.

Re: *** Final Task *** Winner takes all 5/22*** Spoilers

Originally Posted by shoepie

This is interesting. Charities that require a huge staff to keep them going is always a question for me. How much gets to the actual heart of the need and how much goes in the pockets of the CEO and other mangement. Scandal happened back in the 50's to expose this and they now are under more scrutiny but still I wonder.

Apparently now in America they must release these for tax purposes. I see many charities flat out give how much of each dollar goes to what, i.e. American Cancer Society, March of Dimes. That said, you can also file a freedom of information request to view these documents. If they refuse, you can sue for the right. Given their status, they'd release these either way.

I like John Rich but I got sick of him saying St Judes Children's hospital over and over and over. I don't believe all the celebs on this show are as dedicated to their charity as they would like us to believe. Self promotion heads the list. Nothing wrong with that either.

It really depends on the celebrity. In John's case, I really think he's passionate about the organization. A lot of country singers, and particularly smaller town ones that are strong in their religious beliefs of charity and helping, such as JR, tend to really focus on charity and helping people as much as they can.

The missing Dion is curious. Surely she signed a contract stating that she had to be at the finale. Reality show contestants never seem to get out of that one. She may have cried bad edit and caused a comotion. Rather than pressing it, they let it go. Nothing else makes sense.

Are you sure? - Some of these shows do not require a finale appearance. If they did, they wouldn't be paying a "bonus" to appear. Dion could also have health or personal issues - heck even a project, that could've kept her from the finale. Apparently Jose Canseco was also a no-show, and we know Hatch couldn't attend as he's in jail for not paying his taxes and blaming everyone but himself.

David Cassidy is a little whinny worm. Why not be bigger than the situation and let the friction with Hatch live in the past. He only made himself look bad.

Actually, I saw his point - Hatch was so willing to point out all the bad things Cassidy had about him that he didn't realize that he was not doing what he needed to do and pay his taxes. In short - I think David's comment about Hatch getting what he deserved fit - Hatch said David didn't work hard, Hatch however is not working hard to pay off his taxes.

Starr and her insidious grin makes my skin crawl.

This I agree with.

Lisa calling on the audience to back her about Starr being fired instead of her was a bad idea. Most would have agreed but who even remembers the first task? And the energy just wasn't there to muster Starr hate and Lisa failed to sense this.

What hurt Lisa here was that we all know she pretty much set herself up to be fired. Star was bad, however, Lisa didn't help herself out.

Not one word to the playboy model. I still cannot remember her name.

Holly. She was forgettable.

Love Lil John. He was adorable last night.

I agree, and I appreciated his honesty about everyone and what he thought about the show. I might not like his music if I get to hear it (I don't know so I'm neutral here), but as a worker he's proven that a rapper can discern the difference between a business as Trump's and his as a rapper/music industry.

Gary, oh my god Gary! Two things in life you should never do, pet a burning dog and fry bacon naked. Love it. I missed that little piece of Gary wisdom when it aired.

Loved it and I loved the punchline that Omaha Steaks actually does have a kite in their boxes that were designed by the men. And, BTW, I loved how Meat Loaf explained he had 18 concussions and a skull fracture. That would explain his blowup with Gary, and why he was embarrassed about it. It's good to know they're friends outside of this.

Re: *** Final Task *** Winner takes all 5/22*** Spoilers

Originally Posted by shoepie

Charities that require a huge staff to keep them going is always a question for me. How much gets to the actual heart of the need and how much goes in the pockets of the CEO and other mangement. Scandal happened back in the 50's to expose this and they now are under more scrutiny but still I wonder.

A good source of checking out charities is charitynavigator.org. It lists and rates among other things total revenue, administrative and fund raising costs and efficiency ratings. For the year 2009 St. Jude's total revenue was $829 mil and efficiency rating 1 star (out of 4)and the Starkey Hearing Foundation $9 mil and 4 stars.

The $1 million that Marlee raised should have a huge impact on the Starkey Foundation. It delivers more than 50,000 hearing aids annually in countries stretching from the U.S. to Vietnam. In addition, the Foundation promotes hearing health awareness while supporting research and education.

While I have been aware of St. Jude's for many years, I hadn't realized till now that it is strictly a research hospital and children are accepted for treatment based on meeting research criteria. Most of the treatment is on an outpatient basis. They do research to find cures for cancer and other catastrophic diseases and disorders.

One of the positive things about Celebrity Apprentice is that it brings some awareness to lesser known charities. I had never heard of Starkey nor some of the others.